


Upstead One-shots

by HaileyUpstan



Category: Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-15
Updated: 2020-01-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:14:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22272403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HaileyUpstan/pseuds/HaileyUpstan
Summary: One shots between Jay Halstead and Hailey Upton.
Relationships: Jay Halstead & Hailey Upton, Jay Halstead/Hailey Upton
Comments: 1
Kudos: 61





	1. Bathing

**Author's Note:**

> Decided to post these here too. Enjoy!

“You’re gonna have to let yourself in.”

Jay glanced down at his phone while stopped at a red light. He was currently making his way to Hailey’s house after a long day working a difficult case which he suspects has affected Hailey greater than she lets on. Rojas taking Jay’s spot as Hailey’s partner has made it more difficult for him to check up on her at work.

The text worried him but he was thankful for the fact that Vanessa finally moved out of Hailey’s house. It made it easier for them to spend time alone together with Will living with Jay.

Jay entered Hailey’s passcode and slowly entered the house. There was an eerie quietness around the house with no sign of Hailey in the kitchen or living room.

‘Hailey?’ Jay called out softly.

With no answer Jay made his way up the stairs and saw a soft light coming from underneath the door to the bathroom.‘Hails?’ Jay questioned while gently rapping on the door. He entered the bathroom after Hailey’s approval and was met with the sight of her having a bubble bath with her hair in a high bun. ‘You had me worried there for a minute Hailey.’ Jay lightly chuckled.

‘I just needed to relax after today, long day and all.’

The sight of Hailey made his heart ache, she looked exhausted and sad. He did the only thing he could think of at the moment.

‘I guess you’re joining me then?’ Hailey questioned with her eyebrows raised. He ignored her comment and continued to undress, leaving his clothes on the floor before hopping in the bath the opposite side of her. Jay reached under the water and grabbed her hands, bringing them to his mouth and lightly kissing the back of them.

‘Talk to me babe, what’s wrong?’

There was a moment of silence between the pair. Jay released her hands from his and brushed a stray piece of hair behind her ear. Hailey looked down and started drawing shapes in the water. ‘This case hit close to home and dug up some memories. It’s just taking some time to deal with.’

Jay thought back to the drunken night where Hailey confessed about her past to Jay. It was hard to listen to what her father made her family endure. He just wished she’d told him during that case last year. He hates that he couldn’t be there for her during that time.

‘You know you’re not alone in dealing with this, right? I’m here for you Hailey, always.’

It was now Hailey’s turn to make contact with Jay. She reached her hands to his shoulders before softly caressing his face. ‘Hey, I know you’re always there for me and I’m sorry if it seems like I’m shutting you out, but honestly Jay, I’m fine.’

These words brought Jay back to their conversation after the case with Booth. Hailey definitely wasn’t fine then and he didn’t think she was now. He let it slide for now, wanting to enjoy this moment with her without pushing her to speak to him. There’d be time for that later. ‘So, who’s gonna be the chair?’ Jay questioned a while later, amused.

‘I... what?’

‘Are you coming over here or am I coming over there?’

Hailey chuckled, understanding what he means before making her way over to his side. A few minutes of rearranging led to Hailey laying with her back against Jay’s chest, her head resting on his shoulder. ‘I love you.’ Jay whispered against her temple. ‘And I’m here for you whenever you want to talk.’

Hailey titled her head, locking lips with Jay before becoming breathless. ‘I love you too.’

This development happened a month ago. High tensions due to repressed feelings burst after Hailey put herself in harms way. She couldn’t understand why Jay was so angered by it til he confessed his feelings to her. Hailey showed that his feeling were reciprocated and they began dating behind the backs of their unit. They both have bad experience with dating co-workers and simply want to enjoy some time together before coming clean to the unit.

Twenty minutes later and in significantly colder water, Hailey pushed herself off Jay’s chest and made her way out of the bath. Jay watched her dry herself and pull on underwear and his T-shirt before exiting the bath himself. He was pulling up his jeans when he felt a text come through on his phone. Checking his phone he saw a text from Will.

Hey man I left my keys in your flat, are you gonna be home to let me in after my shift?

‘Dammit Will.’ Tonight is not a night he wants to leave Hailey on her own.

‘What’s up?’ Hailey asked, peaking around the corner. Her hair is now out of the bun and cascading in blond curls down her back. Jay took a moment to stare at her, questioning how he got so lucky. Her looks are really something but what made him fall so hard is her unwavering trust in him. She never left his side and Jay, as a man who has been abandoned by so many, really appreciates that.

‘Uh.. that was Will, he left his keys at home and needs me to be there tonight to let him in.’ Jay followed Hailey into her bedroom, eyeing her from the doorway. ‘Personally though I think he could manage to stay at a hotel tonight and I could spend my night with you.’ Jay said slyly while making his way over to Hailey and gripping the edges of his T-shirt she’s wearing. He tugged her towards him and attached his lips to the base of her neck.

’Mmm as much as I want that to happen you can’t leave him Jay. Besides I can be all yours tomorrow night. And the night after that, or any other.’ Hailey combed her fingers through his hair and gently guided his face so it was in front of hers. ‘I’m yours. Everyday, and I’ll always be here for you.’ Hailey pressed her lips against his in a slow passionate kiss, pouring her feelings into it.

Jay pulled away from the kiss, slightly out of breath and leant his forehead against Hailey’s. ‘Sounds good to me.’ He replied, beaming. ‘And hey Will isn’t done for another couple of hours and I do need to get my shirt off of you somehow.’ Jay winked at Hailey while slowly raising his T-shirt off of her. Hailey’s laugh was muffled by Jay’s lips being reattached to hers. They gladly found a way to occupy each other for an hour.

~~~~

An hour and a half later Hailey was watching Jay tie the laces of his shoes at the edge of her bed. He turned around to her with a pout on his face.

‘Spit it out Jay.’

Jay marvelled for a moment at how she was always able to read him before saying what he wanted to say.

‘How about I come back after Will’s asleep and stay here with you? I don’t like you being alone tonight.’

Jay was concerned for her which she appreciated but honestly, it was starting to get on her nerves a bit.

‘Jesus Jay I’m a big girl, I can manage by myself.’ She could tell by the look on his face he wasn’t doubting her, he was just looking out for her. She softened and assured him, ‘Jay I appreciate your concern but I’m good.’

‘I know you’re good Hailey but this case affected you. I just want to be here for you tonight and help you sleep.’

Hailey smirked, ‘Trust me Jay after that last hour you’ve definitely helped me.’ Jay stared at her knowing she knows that’s not what he meant. She crawled to the edge of the bed beside him and took his hands in hers. ‘Please Jay I know you just want to be here for me but I’m fine. You have been here for me. You coming over tonight, it honestly helped.’

Jay nodded before grasping her face in his hands and softly kissing her. Hailey held the kiss for a couple of moments before pushing Jay away. ‘Now go before Will gets home. Text me when you’re home safely.’ Jay nodded and picked his jacket off the floor, making his way towards the door.

‘And Jay,’ Hailey waited for him to turn around before continuing, ‘I love you.’.

Jay held her gaze before replying with a ‘I love you too’.

Twenty minutes later Hailey received a text from Jay.

Home safe and sound! I’ll see you bright and early in the morning with coffee. Love you xx.

Hailey smiled to herself, replying with heart emojis before closing her eyes and dreaming of her future with Jay Halstead.


	2. Brother

“Ughh why didn’t we close the blinds last night?” Jay grumbled, half asleep. It was 9:30 AM on a Saturday morning which thankfully he and Hailey had off. It was a rarity. All he wanted to do was spend his free Saturday snoozing with Hailey but the bright sunshine had other ideas.

“Probably because we were drunk and got home at 4 AM.” Hailey replied from under her pillow. “Remind me to never allow Adam to convince us to go out with him again.” Adam had wanted to celebrate the rare weekend off by inviting the unit (sans Voight) to a couple of rounds at Mollys. A couple turned into a dozen, showcased by the pounding headache both Jay and Hailey were feeling. Hailey tries to recall all that happened last night. She has a vague memory of sneaking away with Jay and stumbling their way into her bedroom but the rest remains blank. Her thoughts are interrupted by Jay groaning behind her and his arms wrapping around her waist.

“Was Adam topless on the bar last night or was that a dream?” Jay questioned.

“I mean it wouldn’t surprise me but I’m more concerned on why you think you’d be dreaming of that. Don’t tell me you have a thing for Adam. Here I was thinking you were jealous of him when he and I were dating but it was me you were envious of?!?” Hailey mocked Jay, with a shocked voice.

“Oh no you caught me!” Replied Jay, playing along with an equally sarcastic voice. “Do you think he’d go for me?”

“Let’s be real the man is too in love with Kim to look at anyone else.”

“Damn I guess I’ll just have to keep you then.” Jay chuckled lowly while pressing his smile against Hailey’s lips. This is how he wants every Saturday to be. He wants to wake up with Hailey encased in his arms, hearing her laugh at his stupid jokes. He never thought he could crave a future as much as he did a future with Hailey. After Erin left he felt as if he would never find happiness again. Now, laying with Hailey in his arms he knows that that wasn’t true happiness. She brings light to his life, constantly helping face his demons and showing him that things can get better. He shaked himself from his thoughts and released Hailey from his arms. Stumbling out of the bed he grabbed a pair of shorts left in Hailey’s wardrobe and pulled them on over his boxers. Jay had fully intented to go downstairs and make breakfast but as he exited the bathroom he sees Hailey adorably encompassed by the covers and quickly changes his mind.

“Back so soon?” Hailey laughed out as Jay slided back in behind her.

“You looked pretty desperate without me so I thought I’d save you.”

Hailey elbowed Jay in the gut. “Don’t lie, you just couldn’t go five seconds without me.”Jay hummed along contentedly, neither denying nor affirming. Hailey enjoys this more open and carefree side of Jay now that they’re together. Jay always maintains a serious demeaner at work and didn’t always let her in before they were together. Ever since they started dating she’s noticed a more playful and vulnerable Jay. A Jay that’s isn’t afraid to openly slow his true emotions to her.

Hailey turned around in his arms and brought her lips to his. Things began to get heated and Hailey was straddling Jay when the doorbell rang through the house. Breaking away Hailey furrowed her eyebrows while Jay made his way down her neck. “Ignore it Hailey we’re off duty. It’s probably just some canvasser.” Jay brought her lips back to his own and gripped her waist tightly. They were interrupted again by the doorbell and some persistent knocking. Jay sighed as Hailey slipped off his lap and fixed her sleep shorts before she made her way downstairs.

She checked herself in the hallway mirror before opening the front door. What waited at the door shocked her. She hadn’t seen him for almost a year and definitely wasn’t expecting to see him at 10 AM on a random Saturday. Hailey’s mind froze thinking of Jay upstairs. She wasn’t prepared to deal with this. A cough broke the silence and she snapped herself out of her panicked silence.

“Damn Hailey it’s good to see you too.”

“Shit David, sorry you just surprised me, I wasn’t expecting to see you.”

“Don’t sound too excited. I am just your brother you barely get to see.” David replied sarcastically before making his way into Hailey’s house.

Hailey took a moment to stare at the now empty doorway before taking a deep breath and following her brother into the kitchen. “So what’s up David? Why the spontaneous visit?”

“Was in the area and thought we should catch up. I tried ringing you but there was no reply.”

“Yeah? How about we catch up over breakfast at the cafe around the corner? They do great pancakes.” Hailey was subtly trying to get her brother out of the house to avoid contact with Jay.

“Nah let’s just stay here and chill.” David decided before starting to make coffee for the both of them.

Hailey sighed internally. She needed to find some way to get Jay out without him interacting with her brother. It’s not that she was ashamed of him, she just didn’t want their first meeting to be this. She wants her relationship with Jay to be long term and she would really love for her brother to like him. Despite not seeing each other in a longtime, Hailey has a strong relationship with her brother and his approval meant a lot. Jay stumbling down the stairs half naked to her brother who is unaware of his relationship with Hailey wouldn’t make for the best first impression.

“I’m just gonna go upstairs to get changed real quick. Pots and pans are in that drawer if you want to start cooking breakfast.” Hailey pointed to the drawer before quickly making her way upstairs.

“Hey what took so long, did you get rid of them?” Jay questioned while looking up from his phone.

Hailey frantically picked up his clothes from the floor and shoved them to his chest. “Jay you have to get changed and out of here quick.”

Jay grabbed her hands, “Woah Hailey slow down, what’s wrong?”.

“My brothers here and we can’t let him see you.”

“You’re kicking me out? What am I a booty call?” Jay asked, sarcastically offended. “I mean I have to meet your brothers at some stage, why not tick one off now?”

Hailey shot Jay an unimpressed look, “Jay you are not meeting my brother for the first time half naked with bed hair, clearly indicating you slept in my bed.”.

“Can I not just stay up here til he leaves?”

Hailey couldn’t believe this man. He will go the extra mile to catch a perp and works out every morning to stay in shape but when it comes to leaving her bed he is suddenly the laziest person. “There is no way you’re staying up here silently. I’d give it ten minutes before you’re down looking for food. Now get up and get changed we’ve to get you out of here.”

Jay chuckled, secretly enjoying her bossy side. He was pulling on his hoodie and about to finish with his shoes before Hailey stopped him. “Wait to put your shoes on outside you’re going to make too much noise with them.”

“Are you seriously making me sneak out like a teenager? I haven’t done this since I was 16. Are you going to make me scale the side of the building too?” Jay was enjoying pushing her buttons during this moment but Hailey was only getting more exasperated.

Hailey ignored his comments and pressed her index finger to his lips before opening her bedroom door and dragging him quietly behind her. They surprisingly made it down the stairs without an issue and at the bottom Hailey peaked her head around the corner to see were David was. Satisfied he was in the kitchen, she called out telling him she was retrieving her phone from her car. She pulled a giggling Jay Halstead out the front door and quickly shut it behind her before turning around and punching him in the arm.

“Chill Hailey you’re the one that has me doing the walk of shame.” He laughed out before quickly turning serious when he realized his car was at home and not at Hailey’s. Hailey only smirked when he pointed out this fact, glad to get some small revenge on his smugness of her sneaking him out. She gave him a cheeky kiss and then told him “You’re a big boy you’ll be able to figure it out.”.

“Hailey come on, it’s freezing.” Jay pleaded to her retreating figure.

She turned once more before opening the door, flashing a grin and telling him to call Will to collect him. She spared one more glance at him before closing the door and was met with an adorable pouty Jay. Blowing him a kiss, she closed the door and quickly made her way back upstairs to get changed and retrieve her phone.

She was greeted with the smell of freshly made coffee and bacon as she made her way into the kitchen. She set her phone on the counter and went to collect necessities from the pantry. As she was in the pantry she heard the faint ding of her phone receiving a message but passed no heed. She dumped the food from the pantry on the island before making her way to grab plates from the cupboard. She was reaching to take them when she heard her brother calling to her.

“Who’s Jay? Apparently he’s getting hypothermia because you’re making him walk and you ‘owe him’.”

She quickly took the phone off of her brother and saw new incoming messages.

_You honestly owe me Upton._

_I feel like such a side hoe._

_And here I thought this was a loving relationship..._

_Love you though :P x_

Hailey thanked the heavens she took her phone from her brother when she did. “I work with Jay, I was supposed to collect him this morning and give him a lift home but bailed on him to hang with you.” Hailey was thankful for all her undercover experience for the skill she gained of lying on the spot. She turned around from her brother and grinned at her phone before replying with her own messages.

_**Don’t be such a baby Jay it’s not even that cold.** _

**Love you too ya baby x**

  
_Say that to all my breath crystallising in the air._

**Are you free tonight to have dinner with me and my brother?**

_Are you sure you want him to meet the booty call?_

_Just kidding I’d love to. Just name the time and place._

Hailey smiled down to her phone before turning around and catching up with her brother.


	3. Brother (2)

"You sticking around for dinner?" Once Jay successfully snook away, Hailey and David spend the most part of the day relaxing and catching up. She was hoping her brother would stay for dinner so he could meet Jay and the two would hopefully bond.

"Yeah what you feeling, takeout?"

"Nah I was thinking we could cook and I could have you meet someone important to me."

David agreed and Hailey went to the kitchen to get her phone to text Jay.

**So you good to call over for dinner in about an hour? You can bring Will too and he can meet David.**

_Yeah sounds good._

_Do you need me to bring anything over? We'll stop in the shop on the way to grab some beers._

_Also, is it weird I'm nervous to meet your brother?_

**You were ok to meet while walking out of my bedroom this morning but now you're nervous?**

**Could you grab some spaghetti? I'm all out.**

**We're having spaghetti and meatballs FYI.**

_That's a fair point._

_I can do that. See you in an hour._

**_Xx_ **

* * *

80 minutes later, Jay and Will stood nervously outside Hailey's door waiting to be let in. Will grinned over at his brother nervously shuffling from foot to foot. He was shocked to see his usually confident brother so nervous. He suspected this was due to Hailey. Jay is really serious about his relationship with Hailey and Will was just glad to see his brother so happy. Will chuckled over to his brother, "Chill Jay it's going to be fine.". Jay glared over at his brother before the door opened.

"Well if it isn't my favourite Halstead." Hailey greeted them before giving Will a hug.

"If only you met me first Hailey." Will winked before making his way into the hall.

"Ha ha, hilarious. There's no way she would have went for that red hair." Jay replied dryly as he made his way through the doorway.

"Speak for yourself, I personally find the red hair sexy." Hailey and Will grinned at each other, he was too easy to rile up.

"Should I leave you two to it?"

Hailey leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Don't be bitter." She took the bag off of Jay and squeezed his arm before leading the two of them to the kitchen.

"There's some beer, red wine, pasta and dessert for later in there for later." Will informed Hailey. She turned and flashed him a smile. She hadn't even thought of dessert. The smell of the tomato sauce wafted towards them as they made their way into the kitchen. Will's stomach rumbled loudly as soon as the aroma hit his nose in typical Will Halstead fashion. The man loved his food. Hailey led the way into the kitchen with Will behind her and a slightly nervous Jay brining up the rear. David turned around as soon as the trio entered the kitchen and wiped his hand with a towel before making his way to Will.

"So you must be the boyfriend?" David questioned him while shaking his hand. Hailey couldn't help but blurt out a laugh. Teasing Jay about her and Will making a better couple is something she and Will did often, much to the chagrin of Jay. She shot Jay a smirk but he didn't look too impressed.

"I'm the brother, Will. It's nice to meet you." Will and Hailey made eye-contact with each other and immediately burst out laughing. Jay stepped over and shook David's hand, giving Hailey and Will a side glance.

"Hey I'm Jay, 'the boyfriend'." Jay stood beside David and gestured to Will and Hailey who were crying with laughter. "Ignore them two children. They like to think they're funny."

David grinned at Jay. "Don't I know it. This one spends a long time laughing at her own jokes. She likes to think she's funny. It's kind of sad." Hailey stopped laughing and looked at David with a betrayed look. Jay couldn't help but grin, it felt great to have someone team up with him against Hailey rather than the other way around. Jay made his way over to the pot simmering on the stove. "Smells good. Need me to do anything?"

Hailey made her way over to Jay and stirred the sauce inside the pot before looking up at him. "Mmh.. you can fry up the meatballs then we just need to cook the spaghetti and we're good." She turned around and unpacked the bag they brought. "Will you want a drink?" Hailey got Will a drink and handed Jay a beer, she didn't need to ask which he'd prefer. Hailey sat by the island and caught up with Will. She wanted to give Jay and David a chance to talk alone.

"So Jay you and Hailey work together right?" The pair stood side by side by the stove, Jay cooking the meatballs while David made the pasta.

"Yeah, we used to be partners a while back. She helped me through some stuff when I really needed it. We got split up a couple months ago so Hailey could help out a new worker." Being split up from Hailey really sucked for Jay at first but now that they're together he's looking at the positives. This way they can be together without being judged at dating another partner and they still get to work together all the time. "Hailey tells me you're a vet, what's that like?"

David started telling Jay about his job while Will and Hailey both looked over at the pair. "It seems like it's really important to you for them two to get along. Jay told me about you making him sneak out this morning." Will stated, looking back at Hailey. Hailey looked down bashfully, "Yeah it's just- me and you get along really well and I guess I want the same with Jay and my brother. In some weird way my brother's approval means a lot to me. Not that not having his approval would put me off Jay. I guess it'd just be a bonus."

"It's natural to want your family to like your significant other Hailey." Will was interrupted by Jay laughing at something David said. "Besides I don't think you need to be worrying too much." Hailey smiled at Will and patted his shoulder as she made her way over to the stove.

Hailey made her attention known by laying her hand against Jay's lower back and peering over their shoulders. "What's so funny?"

"David was just telling me about how you broke your arm falling out of a tree while trying to spy on your crush. What age even were you?" Jay questioned while barely containing his laughter.

"Dude she was 16!" David barely got the words out before Hailey was pushing him away from the stove.

"Damn Hailey, now I'm scared of what you may have done with all that time you were pining over me. You totally slept with a picture of me beside your pillow."

Hailey simply blushed and punched his arm.

A short while later the four were sitting around the island, enjoying their meal while sharing stories. "I gotta say, I was expecting you two to be all fancy, eating your pasta with a fork and spoon." Hailey poked fun at both Will and Jay. Jay smiled down gently at his food as Will answered, "Our Mom taught us that we should always eat pasta the proper Italian way. I guess it just stuck with the both of us.". Will looked over at Jay whose eyes met with Hailey's. Hailey shared a look with Jay, apologizing for bringing up his Mom. Jay looked at Hailey with their non-verbal communication, letting her know things were good. She knew how much his mom meant to Jay. He may not have spoken that much to her about his mom but she gathered from the little bits that she meant a lot to him and that he greatly misses her.

"You guys want another drink?" David asked the brothers. Will accepted while Jay refused. He was driving and wanted to ensure he wasn't over the limit. Jay and Hailey shared a smile as her brother got the drinks. They were both glad that things were going well.

"You a Blackhawks fan?" Jay questioned David after the food.

"Yes, of course, since I was a kid."

"Let's go catch the second period, it should be starting soon." Jay and David went to the sitting room and Hailey and Jay got dessert ready.

* * *

The night went extremely well and it was time for David to make his hour journey home. " Will it was nice meeting you. Jay, you're a cool guy and I like you but if you hurt my sister, I have to kill you and you're a scary cop, so for my sake please don't."

Jay chuckled, "Don't plan on it, I think she'd kick my ass if I did. Next time you're in the city we've got to hit up a Blackhawks game. I know I guy who could get us good tickets.".

Hailey gasped, hurt. "Jay I've known you three years now and you've never once asked me to a Blackhawks game. I'm low-key offended."

"Sorry Hailey but David is my favourite Upton." _The little rat_ , Hailey thought to herself. He had been waiting all night to use that.

* * *

It was getting late and Jay was regretting brining Will for the fact that he had to go home with him, now he couldn't spend the night at Hailey's. "Call me when Jay's asleep Will." Hailey took one last chance to make a dig at Jay and winked at Will.

"A pleasure as always Hailey." Will winked at Hailey and sat in the car, leaving Jay and Hailey to have a moment.

"Having fun?"

"Mmh, the most." Hailey wrapped her arms around Jay's waist and gazed up at him. "Thank you for tonight, it was great seeing you with my brother."

Jay gently kissed her forehead, "I like him, he reminds me a lot of you." The two took a moment to enjoy the silence, hugging each other close.

"Gym tomorrow morning?" Hailey broke the silence.

"Can't, I told Trudy I'd help her and the kids with the garden til lunch but we could hit the gym after and watch the Bulls game with Will?"

"Sounds good. I forgot about your and Trudy's best friend status. If she ever needs an extra set of hands tell her to hit me up."

"Can you love-birds hurry up? Some of us have work in the morning." Hailey and Jay broke apart as Will shouted from the car.

"The kid's getting cranky, that's my cue to leave." Jay leant down and kissed Hailey before walking backwards to his car. "See you tomorrow, I love you."

"Love you too." Hailey replied, leaning against the doorway and watching the brothers leave.


	4. Father

Jay stopped to watch her chest rise and fall before pacing the room and sitting in the rocking chair. It was 3:30 in the morning but after that nightmare he had to come check on her. Jay dreaded going back to work in the morning. It felt too soon. He wasn't ready to leave this world they had encompassed themselves in. Going to work meant spending hours away from them and that terrified him.

He didn't want to disturb her sleep but he needed to feel her to be comforted. Gently leaning over the side of the cot, he lifted his daughter and brought her to his chest before sitting back down in the rocking chair. That's how Hailey found him 15 minutes later, softly humming to their daughter while rocking in the chair. "If you keep having her sleep in your arms she'll never be able to sleep in her cot." Despite that, Hailey's heart couldn't help but clench everytime she saw him holding her. They were too adorable.

"I had a bad dream and I had to hold her to know she was ok." Now Hailey's heart clenched for another reason.

"Jay you should have woken me." She padded across the floor in her bare feet and made her way behind the chair. "Talk me through it." Hailey requested while massaging his shoulders.

"I was at work and got a call that you two were at Med. She had stopped breathing and you were so angry that I wasn't there." He shut his eyes tightly, trying to rid himself of how he felt when he woke up. Hailey began to gently card her fingers through his hair.

"Jay you have to go back to work at some stage."

"It's too soon, I should be here."

"Jay if you had boobs that could feed our baby I'd go, not sure how you'd look with them but anyway you don't. One of us has to go back. They can't be two members down much longer."

"I understand it. Doesn't mean I like it." The first month of Sarah's life went by far too quickly and Jay wasn't ready to face reality.

"Come on Jay, let her sleep in her cot. Both of you need sleep." Hailey met Jay at the cot and carefully took her out of his arms and tucked her under the blanket. Hailey placed Jay's hand in both of hers and led him back to their bedroom.

"I don't want to be the type of father that's too busy with work, that never sees his kids." Hailey looked at Jay with soft eyes. It was so important for him to do this right. He was always second guessing himself.

"Jay you won't. You're going to be a great father, you already are. Sarah is already daddy's girl, which I kind of resent cause I went through the pain of birthing her and she already favours you. She's unbelievably lucky to have a man like you as her father and one day she will show you how thankful she is for that."

"I'm just scared something will happen at work and I won't make it back to you two."

"Jay that fear is going to make you work that bit harder to make sure you get home to us. We both need you and you're not going to leave us."

She moved nearer to Jay under the covers and tucked her head into his chest. Jay kissed her on the forehead and tugged her closer.

* * *

"Do you want something made for your lunch?" After his talk with Hailey he got a couple hours of sleep but now it was time to get ready for work. He was sitting at the kitchen table, cradling Sarah in his arms while eating toast.

"It's all good, thanks babe." Jay was already cutting it close so he decided it was time to get going. He passed Sarah into Hailey's arms and went to brush his teeth.

"Call me if you need anything, anything at all. And if there's no answer from me call Trudy or Will." Jay kissed Sarah on the forehead and pecked Hailey's lips before leaving.

"Love you!"

* * *

"If it isn't Detective Chuckles! How's Chuckles Jr. going?" Jay and Trudy's relationship had really blossomed over the past couple of years. She was important to both Jay and Hailey and they showed this by naming their daughter Sarah Trudy Halstead. Sarah after Jay's mother and Trudy after their favourite desk sergeant. Jay showed Trudy some pictures then made his way up to the bullpen where he was greeted by his unit.

"Hey, Daddy Halstead! The grey hairs are already forming!" Jay grinned and gave Adam a brief hug before handing his phone to the excited pair of Rojas and Burgess who demanded to see photos. Their coos were disrupted a short while later by Voight entering and asking for an update.

"Halstead good to have you back." And just like that Jay was brought up to speed and things were back to normal.

The day was going surprisingly well and uneventful and then suddenly it was lunch. Jay was nearby meeting a CI and couldn't help himself, he had to go home and see his girls.

"You lasted long. Did you somehow manage to piss Voight off and he sent you home?" Hailey questioned as she let her fiancé inside.

Jay kissed Hailey and made his way inside. "I was in the area and decided I'd come home for lunch." He went straight to his daughter and picked her up so he could sit with her on the couch. Hailey came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his chest with her head on his shoulder so they could both marvel at their daughter.

"So what's happening at work?" Hailey hadn't worked properly for months and was honestly missing it. They spent the hour playing with Sarah and Jay drove back to the district with a smile on his face. Being back at work just made every minute he spends with his family more valuable.


	5. Kidnapped

Hailey sighed, taking one more glance around the gym before making her way into the locker room. She thought she was meeting Jay in the gym this morning like usual but it's been an hour and half since they were supposed to meet and yet there was still no sign of him. Taking her phone out of her gym bag she shot him a quick text and hopped in the shower.

**Hey Jay you good? Thought we were meeting at the gym.**

Fifteen minutes later she was ready to head to the district and there was still no word from Jay. Hailey was concerned by this. Jay had been doing great lately with his PTSD and not hearing from him had her concerned that his nightmares were back. He was always great at contacting her if something came up and her instincts told her things weren't right. Stopping at a coffeeshop on the way to work she grabbed two coffees, one for her and one for Jay. She'd hopefully get through to him at the district.

Making her way up to the bullpen she still saw no sign of him and his car wasn't in the parking lot. She was giving him 20 minutes before she'd start to get worried, she was early and maybe he was just sleeping in. Finishing paperwork from yesterday made the twenty minutes fly by and soon everyone was in and the briefing started. Everyone but Jay. Hailey held out throughout the briefing but as soon as it was done she followed Voight into his office and began questioning him. "Sarge have you heard from Jay this morning? We were supposed to hit the gym together but he didn't show. I thought he just forgot about it but him not showing to work is worrying me. Did he have to suddenly go undercover?" Hailey barely let a breath out.

"Halstead messaged me this morning, said something came up with a friend and he needed some time off to go out of town and help them." There was a moment of silence while Hailey processed this. "Is that all?" Hailey opened her mouth to speak again before nodding. "Good. I need you and Burgess to go speak to the Harrington kid, see if he remembers anything else about the case."

Grabbing her coat from the back of her seat she stole a glance at Jay's desk. This still didn't feel right to her. Kim called her and she shook herself from her thoughts, following her down the stairs.

* * *

3 hours later Hailey found herself in the ER of Med. She was there questioning a lead and was about to head back to the precinct when she saw the red hair of Will Halstead. Turning directions she followed Will and grabbed his arm. "Will, hey."

"Hey Hailey, are you hurt?" He checked her for injuries.

"I'm good, just here questioning a witness. Have you heard from Jay? Voight said he took some time off to help a friend out of town but I haven't heard from him since last night."

"Haven't spoken to him in the last three days, I've been slammed lately. I don't know of any friends he could be helping out of town. Is it possible he just wanted to ditch?"

Hailey scoffed, "Come on Will, it's Jay, there's no way he's ditching. Do you have Charlie?" Charlie was a brown Australian Shepherd dog Jay got a couple of months back. His friend's dog had a litter of pups and Hailey and Will convinced him to take one. Jay was getting Charlie trained as a therapy dog so he could bring him to work each day. Platt approved of his idea of having Charlie at the precinct to comfort witnesses when needed.

"He didn't leave Charlie with me. Look Hailey I gotta go now but I'll ring Jay and see if I can get through to him." Will squeezed her arm and made his way past her. Hailey sighed before making up her mind. Texting Kim to let her know she'd be another while, she made her way to Jay's apartment.

"Jay? You in there?" Hailey placed her ear against the door. She could hear Charlie whining inside and scratching at the door. She considered just straight up kicking his door in but went against it in case she would hurt Charlie. Ten minutes later she was back at the door, this time with the keys to Jay's flat. His landlord was a bit apprehensive in giving her the keys til she flashed her badge and explained that she was his partner. She opened the door slowly, scared at what she might find inside. As soon as the door was open Charlie ran at her, jumping up and attempting to lick her face. "Hey boy, where's your dad?" Charlie ran towards Jay's bedroom and began whining at the closed door. His whining and scratching at the bottom of the door worried her. She slowly approached the door, her hand resting on her fire arm. Pushing the door open she was met with a slightly messy but empty room. Charlie sniffed around the room, sad to find no Jay before jumping on his bed. Something was definitely up.

Hailey brought Charlie to the precinct and left him in the break room and then made her way back into Voight's office. "Sarge we need to talk about Jay." Voight dropped the file he was reading and nodded at Hailey to continue. "I think something is wrong. I spoke to Will at Med and he hasn't spoken to Jay and he doesn't know of any friends out of town he might be helping. Not to mention he just left Charlie at his flat."

"We know Halstead has a complicated relationship with his brother, Jay's a private person, he doesn't share much about his friends. And you sure he doesn't have a neighbour checking on the dog?" Voight's calm demeaner was beginning to piss her off.

"Sarge he loves that dog, there's no way he'd just leave him. I know Jay and my instincts are telling me something is wrong." Hailey sat herself in one of the chairs and ran her hand through her hair.

"Ok if you think there's something wrong we better look into it. Have Trudy find Jay's last known phone location and look into his latest card transactions." Hailey nodded, finally glad to have Voight do something. Not wasting anymore time she quickly ran downstairs. "Trudy I need you to ping Halstead's last known phone location."

"Let me guess, he lost his phone?" Taking a glance up at the worried detective, Trudy quickly stopped her joking.

"It's important. He's missing."

"I'm on it."

* * *

"I spoke with some of Jay's neighbours. One saw him leave last night with Charlie and heard him return about an hour later." Hailey looked from her desk as Rojas walked in.

"Did they say what time that was?" Kim questioned.

"The neighbour ran into him while she was coming home which was around eight last night."

Hailey started piecing things together in her head. Jay was seen leaving his apartment around eight and returned an hour or so later. His card was used at a Target at quarter to ten later that night. They still couldn't find a location on Jay's truck and the Target was the best lead they had. Hailey grabbed her coat and informed the team on where she was going. "Ruzek go with Upton. Atwater you see if they have a location on Halstead's truck yet." Voight ordered.

"Hailey isn't that Jay's truck there?" Adam questioned. They had just pulled into the Target's parking lot when Adam spotted it. Hailey nodded.

Hailey rang Kevin. "Kev we found Jay's car. We're gonna take a look around and speak to some of the staff." Glancing through the windows of Jay's car she saw shopping bags. So he made it inside the store and back to the car. Hailey suspected something happened as he brought the trolley back. Hailey and Adam made their way inside and asked to speak to the manager. Flashing their badges, they explained how they required the stores' security footage.

"His card was used just before quarter to ten so show us then." Hailey instructed the manager. The footage proved what Hailey suspected. Jay brought his shopping to the car and returned the trolley. It was on the way back to the car where he encountered trouble. The video showed a dark figure approach Jay from behind and sucker punch him in the back of the head. Jay wasn't given a chance to fight back, he was knocked out in a single punch. The man dragged Jay into the back of a black van and the van sped up. Hailey vaguely heard Adam tell the manager to send the footage to Intelligence. She was too absorbed in what she just saw. She had suspected something was up but this was real, Jay was in danger.

* * *

"Ok what do we have?" Voight questioned his team.

"No positive match on the facial rec but we did ID the owner of the van." Vanessa placed a picture on the board. "Carlos Miller, 29 years of age. Previous charges include the possession of an unlicensed fire arm and aggravated assault."

"Ok so is there any connection between Jay and this guy?" Voight looked to his team but they didn't have an answer yet. The team was interrupted by Trudy.

"Hank, Will Halstead is downstairs." Hailey looked to Voight and nodded to him, she would be the one to deal with Will.

"Hailey is it true? Has Jay been kidnapped?" Will frantically questioned her as soon as she came down the stairs. Taking him by his arm, Hailey let him to an empty room.

"We have footage of him being taken but Will, right now you need to go home and let us do our job." Hailey tried to remain calm but she was just as worried as Will. She wouldn't let him see that though.

"Hailey I can't just go home and sit on my ass. I want to help."

"Will the best way you can help Jay is to go home in case anyone tries to contact you. We're going to find him but we need you to stay out of this. He'd never forgive us if you somehow got hurt." Will put his head in his hands and sat at the edge of the desk.

"This shouldn't be happening again. He's my baby brother I should be protecting him." Hailey sat down beside Will and wrapped her arm around his shoulder.

"We're going to find him Will. Take Charlie home with you and let us know if anyone contacts you." She helped him up and gave him a brief hug, they both needed to remain strong.

Hailey made her way back upstairs just as Adam shared his development. "We found a connection between Carlos Miller and Jay. We busted his brother Anthony Miller about six months ago, he's serving thirty years in County."

"Ok call county we need to speak to him. Rojas do you have an address for Carlos yet?" Vanessa answered Voight with a yes and her and Kevin went to pay the house a visit. They all got back to their work and a couple of minutes later Adam returned. "Just got off the phone with county. Anthony Miller died two weeks ago. He was found dead in the showers with 12 stab wounds."

"So his brother is looking for revenge? Why go after Jay?" Hailey couldn't understand why anyone would want to hurt Jay.

"Jay arrested Anthony. I'm guessing Carlos blames Jay for his brothers death and wants revenge."

* * *

Hailey was out chasing a lead when she heard it

come through on the radio. "5021 Henry you on the air?" Hailey quickly pulled over and affirmed she was there. "935 Charlie has located your targeted BOLO vehicle." She put the address into her GPS and quickly sped off.

"Sarge I have an address on the black van. It's parked outside an abandoned warehouse and I'm on my way there now."

"Copy that. Send the address. And Hailey, do not enter until we get there."

Hailey arrived with no sign of the team. Scoping around from inside the car, she saw the van and noted that it looked empty. She casually walked by the van and took a glance in and confirmed it was empty. Hailey weighed up her options, she could stay outside and leave Jay, who could potentially be inside the warehouse, alone or she could go in and save her partner. Hailey decided for the latter. She turned her radio off, going dark and made her way to the back of the building.

There was a back door that had been bolted shut which didn't budge when she tried to open it. The only other way in through the back would be through a broken window. After boosting herself through the window she gently landed on the other side and unholstered her weapon. She made her way through three rooms before she saw him. Her heart dropped. Jay was hanging with his arms tied above his head. His face was bloody and bruised and his feet were barely touching the floor. She had to stop herself from shouting out to him. Jay's kidnappers could be anywhere or it could be a trap waiting for her team.

Jay's head slowly raised as he heard her footsteps. "I'm telling you my unit's gonna be here so-...… Hailey." His eyes lit up as he saw her. "Where is the rest of them?"

Hailey cradled Jay's face in her hands, tilting it to see the damage. His eyebrow and lip were split and he had a huge gash on the side of his head. "They'll be here soon. Come on we have to get you out of here."

Jay then began to panic. "Hailey you have to get out of here. There's six of them and if they see you..." Jay was interrupted by the sound of chatter and footsteps approaching. His eyes met hers and he silently begged her to go. If she stayed she'd end up hanging right beside Jay. She communicated with him through a look, she'd be here to help when the time was right. She squeezed his face gently before quickly hiding behind some barrels and wooden boxes in the corner of the room.

Three men entered the room and made their way to Jay. Hailey recognised one of them as Carlos Miller. He began punching Jay in the gut and Hailey had to look away. "Where are you going with this? My team is going to be here soon and then you'll all be going to jail." Jay was panting at this stage, barely getting his words out.

"Yeah your team might be on to us but we're not done with you quite yet." Carlos punched Jay in the face one last time before addressing the other men. "Get ready to move. We need to find a new location and ditch the van." Carlos and another one of the men left the room while the last man began packing away anything they'd left around the place. Hailey saw this as her chance. She crept towards the man with her gun drawn and made eye contact with Jay. once she was close enough she raised her gun and pistol whipped him in the back of his head. Hailey did her best to grab him as he fell to lower the noise.

Time was of the essence, it wouldn't be long til the other two would be back. She rushed forward and went to untie Jay's feet. She'd just untied them and was making her way to his arms when she was grabbed from behind. So he wasn't actually unconscious she thought to herself as her back hit the ground. Hailey faintly heard Jay calling out to her but she was too preoccupied trying to defend herself. She found herself on her back with the guy on top of her attempting to strangle her.

"Chicago PD" Adam's voice calling out gave Hailey a chance to push him off of her. She went to raise her gun but it was kicked out of her hands. The two found themselves in a fist fight and they were making their way closer to a struggling Jay. Hailey raised her arm to block a punch and was met with a punch to the side that left her winded and once again on her back.

Jay watched as the man grabbed a knife from a nearby table and made his way to Hailey. He couldn't allow her to get hurt while saving him so he used the last of his strength. Stretching his hands as much as the rope allowed, Jay reached up to the pipe above him and used it to pull his body up. He stretched his legs out and grabbed the man around the torso with his legs. Thankfully the knife was dropped during the struggle but it was not over yet. He struggled in Jay's grasp and reached out to the nearby table once again. Grabbing the nearest object he brought it before his eyes, seeing a syringe. Stabbing Jay in the leg, he emptied the contents into his body.

Adam and Kevin finally entered the room and helped Hailey apprehend the man. As soon as Jay released him he slumped down as far as the rope would allow. The contents of the syringe had hit him and he began to lose consciousness. Hailey rushed forward and took as much as Jay's weight as she could. The ropes were cut and Jay's full weight landed on Hailey with an arm on either side of her head.

"Jay stay with me." They had laid Jay on the ground and Hailey was shaking his trying to keep him awake.

"Someone call an ambulance!" Is the last thing Jay heard before his vision of Hailey turned black.

* * *

Jay had been out for three days. The drugs injected into him damaged his body and he was put into an induced coma so he could heal properly. Hailey rarely left his side during his time in the hospital and today was finally the day his meds would be reduced so he could wake.

"He should be waking soon." Will informed her from the doorway. Hailey was seated in a chair near Jay's bed and she was holding his hand in hers. Will handed her a coffee and made his way to the other side of Jay's bed. "You two should probably have a talk about shared feelings once he wakes." Will half smirked at Hailey over his own coffee.

Hailey gave Will a stare from the corner of her eye, sipping her coffee. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on Hailey. I saw how worried you were about him not to mention you knew something was wrong before anyone else. I've also never seen Jay as scared as we was when he thought you were infected. How many more close calls do you two need before you admit your feelings for each other?"

Hailey was saved from this conversation with Will by Jay's hand twitching in hers and his eyes slowly opening. "Will he's waking." Will rushed outside to grab a nurse to get Dr. Marcel.

"Jay, Hey Jay you're ok, you're at Med." Hailey grabbed Jay's face and brought his eyes to hers.

Jay started trying to sit up and opened his mouth to try speak. "Woah Jay you have to be careful. You can't speak til the tube is removed."

Dr. Marcel finally entered and they began to remove his intubation. "Ok Jay you're going to need to cough for me to help get this tube out." Numbing spray was sprayed down Jay's throat once it was removed.

Hailey still hadn't left Jay's side. She watched his face as his expression became panicked and he pushed himself to a seating position.

"Charlie. Charlie is at my apartment. Someone needs to go get him." Jay's voice was rough and it seemed like it pained him to talk.

Hailey pushed Jay's chest, getting him to lay down again. "Jay shh, it's ok. Charlie's at mine and Vanessa is looking after him." Trust it for Jay to only think of his dog as soon as he woke.

Jay relaxed at Hailey's words and Will made his presence known by handing Jay some ice chips. "You had us worried there for a while Jay."

Jay slightly smiled. He was still exhausted and it was evident by his drooping eyes. "Go to sleep Jay." Hailey told him gently. Jay squeezed her hand and closed his eyes.

* * *

"Ok Charlie you're going to have to be very gentle cause Jay's a bit hurt right now." Hailey told the dog as she hunkered down outside Jay's apartment door. She held his collar as she opened the door with the new key Jay gave to her. Jay was released earlier this morning and wanted Charlie back immediately despite Hailey's hesitation. Charlie could be very excitable and they didn't need him jumping around injuring Jay further.

Jay was sitting on the couch when they came in. The bruises on his face had darkened over the past couple of days, making them look worse. He had stitches on his eyebrow and his head was scabbed in several places. He turned his head around and a big grin grew on his face when he saw Charlie. "Hey boy."

Hailey continued to hold onto Charlie's collar but she led him over to Jay on the couch. Charlie's tail wagged frantically. "Hailey it's ok you can let him go." Hailey sighed but let him go nonetheless. Charlie immediately jumped up on the couch beside Jay and began licking his face.

Charlie's excitement tired him out and ten minutes later he was asleep by Jay's feet. Hailey was seated sideways on Jay's couch, facing him with her arm rested on the back of the couch. "How are you feeling?"

Jay stared and her before sighing and looking down. "My head has been hurting."

Hailey was surprised by Jay's honesty. She was expecting the usual 'I'm fine'. She went to his kitchen to fetch some water and pain meds for him.

"Lift up your shirt." Jay had taken the meds and Hailey wanted to check on his ribs. His torso had taken quite a beating and his ribs were severely bruised.

Jay was surprisingly compliant and raised his shirt for Hailey. She grimaced at the bruising before gently placing her hand on his side. Jay took a sharp intake of breath. "Sorry, are my hands cold?"

"No uh, it's not that." Hailey met his eyes and blushed, quickly removing her hands.

"Sorry." She was embarrassed she made him feel uncomfortable. "Uh I should get going."

Jay opened his mouth as if he was going to say something but ended up nodding. Hailey gathered her things and gave him a small smile. Jay stared at the empty space where she just sat before deciding it was enough. He was finished holding himself back from what he really wanted to say. He shot up from the couch, grimacing as his side protested in pain. "Hailey wait!"

Her hand was on the door handle when he called her. Hailey turned to Jay just as he engulfed her in a hug. He buried his face in her hair and Hailey slowly wrapped her arms around his waist. They rarely share contact with each other so they both had their eyes closed, savouring this moment. They could have been standing there for 5 minutes before Jay pulled away and cradled her face in his hands. Hailey really felt their height difference in this moment staring up at Jay. He began to lean down and she thought he was going to kiss her. He hesitated a moment then pressed his lips against her forehead.

"Thank you for saving me. I'd have died ten times by now without you as my partner." Jay stepped back after a moment of smiling at each other. "But I can't keep going on like this."

Hailey's smile dropped. She immediately thought the worst. She thought of Jay leaving the unit, leaving Chicago, leaving her.

"I can't be your partner like this anymore. I've tried but I can't. Hailey I have feelings for you and I can't keep pretending that I don't."

Hailey began to panic. She's been wanting this for ages but now that he'd confessed she didn't know what to do. "Jay we can't do this. I uh- I have to go." She tucked her hair behind her ear and went to open the door.

Jay put his hand on the door, stopping her from leaving. "Hailey we can't keep avoiding this. You don't have feelings for me but we can't ignore my feelings for you. We need to acknowledge it so I can get passed this."

"Of course I have feelings for you but it doesn't matter." Hailey tried to leave but was stopped once again by Jay. Admitting defeat she turned and faced him, leaning with her back against the door and a frown on her face.

"If we both do then what's the problem?"

"If we do this we're going to be them partners that couldn't keep it in their pants."

"Good thing Rojas is your partner then." Jay grinned which just annoyed Hailey further. She pushed past him and made her way to his kitchen.

"I've watched you almost die way too many times and I can't be with you and have that happen to me everyday."

Jay listened to her from the other side of the counter then made his way over to her and took her hands in his. "Hailey I get it but I honestly think it'd be worth it."

She had tears in her eyes and wouldn't make eye contact with him. Jay squeezed her hands then raised his to her face. He guided her face back so she would look at him.

"Hailey?" He rubbed his thumb along her cheekbone and slowly lent down. He glanced into her eyes one more time before connecting his lips to hers. The kiss only lasted a couple of seconds before Jay was pulling back to look into her eyes again. The kiss made up her mind, she definitely wanted this. She grabbed by the back of his neck and brought her lips back to this.

* * *

A couple hours later they were chilling on the couch with Charlie, watching some movies.

"So we're doing this?" Jay had his arm around Hailey's shoulders and they were cuddling on the couch.

"Yes but we're doing this the right way. If we're serious about this we need to tell Voight before he finds out himself and flips."

"Sounds good to me but I suspect he knows already." Hailey hummed in agreement. She was dreading the talk with her boss but she was glad they were finally there.

"Stay the night?" Jay questioned as he played with her hair.

Hailey's eyebrows rose. "Jay you have two broken ribs and the rest are bruised, not to mention this is are first night together."

"Hey I wasn't suggesting we do anything I just want you in my arms tonight. I'm worried about nightmares too and I think having you around will help."

Hailey rested her head against his shoulder. "I'm here then. How's your head feeling now?"

Jay sighed. "It's hurting again. I hate being injured, Dr. Marcel said I won't be active for a couple of weeks."

"Good, it'll stop you getting injured for a short while."

Hailey got him some more painkillers and they headed to bed. They held each other all night and it was the best sleep either got in months.

* * *

**So I started this a while ago and wanted to finish it after seeing the promo. I didn't really know where I was going with it though so I'm not too happy with it.**

**Excited for the fall finale though!!**


	6. Undercover

"Okay so Jay's gonna be in charge while you guys are down there. You'll arrive two days before the suspect so there's plenty of time to scope the place out and settle in." Voight informed the team.

The unit (minus Voight) would be going undercover as a group of friends on a holiday. They'd be staying in a vacation house nearby to a well known drug cartel leader in the hopes to get close to and bust him.

The team finished their brief and made their way downstairs to prepare.

Hailey bumped her hip with Jay as he was packing weapons into a bag. "You good with being undercover for you birthday?"

Jay glanced at Hailey and one side of his mouth raised. "I mean you'll be with me so I think I'll be good."

Hailey beamed at him and grasped his hand. Turning around she questioned the team, "Anyone want to ride with me and Jay?".

There was an awkward moment of silence where the rest of them glanced at each other before Vanessa spoke up. "No offence but none of us want to be your third wheel for three hours."

"Oh come on! We're not that bad." Hailey said defensively.

They all laughed at that and Adam spoke up. "You guys were bad enough as partners never mind a couple."

Jay grabbed his bag and tugged Hailey towards the door. "Your loss. I hope you guys enjoy Adam's country music. See you all tomorrow."

* * *

Jay woke up to an empty bed and the sound of rustling in his kitchen which was unusual. Usually he was the early riser while Hailey slept on.

He rubbed his hand over his eyes and reached for his phone to check the time. 7:00 AM meaning they had two hours before they had to hit the road. He forced himself out of the bed and stumbled his way into the kitchen, grinning to himself as he saw Hailey standing over the stove cooking breakfast. Slowly the crept his way over and wrapped his arms around her.

"Shit, you scared the crap out of me." She jumped as Jay put his arms around her. She turned around in his hold. "Happy birthday Ryan."

Jay smirked down at her and gave her a quick peck. "Getting used to the UC name I see, we haven't even started yet."

Hailey sighed contentedly in his arms. "You aren't supposed to be up yet. I was going to surprise you with breakfast in bed."

"That can still happen. Come one." Jay tugged her back towards the bedroom where they shared coffee and breakfast.

A while later, Hailey grabbed the empty plates from Jay and left them on the nightstand. She decided now was the time for her present to Jay.

Jay watched her as she almost fell off the bed stretching out to her bag on the floor. She layed back beside him a moment later with a box in her hands.

"So I wasn't really sure what to get you for your birthday but then I remembered how your watch broke a while back chasing a suspect." Jay watched her as she continued to ramble. "I know you haven't had time to find a proper replacement so I jumped at the opportunity. It's not much but you're a tough guy to buy for."

Hailey handed him the box and watched him with bated breath. She was nervous for his reaction.

Jay unwrapped the box and reached inside. It was a traditional silver watch with engraving on the inside. Jay ran his thumb over the engraved writing.

_Happy Birthday Jay. Love always, Hailey._

Jay was surprised but delighted by Hailey's slight cheesiness. She wasn't one to overly express affection and they'd only been together four months now. Of course the four months felt much longer with how much dancing around their feelings they did.

Jay dropped the watch to the side and grabbed Hailey's hands. "It's amazing Hails. You shouldn't have."

Hailey smiled and slid under Jay's arm. She was so comfortable in this bed with Jay and really didn't want to move. "Can we just stay here all day?"

"The lazy Jay says let's do it but cop Jay says we have to leave in the next hour."

Hailey sighed and spent a moment savouring the comfort of Jay's arms before getting up and readying herself for their time undercover.

Jay picked up his new watch and gently layed it on the night stand. "I guess I probably shouldn't wear this undercover."

* * *

The team arrived at the house and got climatized to their surroundings. They'd spent the day preparing their under cover selves and the evening was left for celebrating Jay's birthday.

They were having a couple of drinks and Adam and Jay were playing pool when Kim slid up to Hailey. "How are you and Jay getting on?" Kim asked.

Hailey and Kim had grown closer lately. They are both dealing with having a relationship in the unit and that led to them confiding in each other often.

Hailey glanced at Jay who was laughing with Kevin and Adam before answering. "We're honestly great. I was worried for so long that us taking the next step would ruin our partnership but I don't regret it at all. We're able to be together but remain professional at work, it's great." Hailey tore her eyes off of Jay and looked at Kim. "What about you and Adam?"

"I'm happy for you. I was waiting so long for you two to actually get together. And as for me and Adam, you know him, he can be tough to deal with but it's worth it."

Hailey thought things would be awkward with her and Kim after dating Adam but thankfully it somehow made them closer. Hailey looked at Jay again and sighed. "I just feel bad. It's his birthday and I mean I bought him a watch but I feel like I should be doing more."

Kim grinned at her. "Then give him a surprise tonight."

* * *

Hailey was nervous, she usually wouldn't do this kind of thing but Kim's encouragement and a couple of drinks made her brave. She fixed her position on the covers and got ready to wait.

Everyone was ready to call it a night not too long ago so she didn’t know what was taking him so long. The longer she waited, the more nerves gathered and she was ready to leave it until the door suddenly opened.

She took a deep breath as the light turned on. That’s when the shit hit the fan.

“What the fuck! **Is there a reason you’re naked in my bed?** ” Kevin shouted as he turned around from Hailey and covered his eyes. “Damn girl, you know I love you but not like this.”

Kevin was still rambling about how she couldn’t do this to Jay. Hailey was mortified and had enough. She threw a pillow at the back of his head. “Can you please just be quiet and leave for a minute so I can get changed?”

She sighed and ran a hand threw her hair after he had left. She was never following Kim’s advice ever again.

“Not a word of this to anyone.” Hailey muttered as she passed Kevin waiting outside the door.

Hailey was about to hide in her room for the next couple of days from embarrassment when Jay walked up the stairs. She quickly sped over and punched him in the arm. “You asshole! You told me your room was the third from the left.”

* * *

  
It was the beginning of their second day in the undercover house and Jay had managed to convince Hailey to leave the room and have breakfast with everyone else. She was still mortified and not fully prepared to face Kevin.

“How’d everyone sleep?” Kim questioned.

There were mutters of replies. Everyone seemed to be nursing headaches from the night before.

“How about you Hailey? Was Kevin’s bed comfortable?” Adam asked slyly.

Jay spat out the orange juice he was drinking and began coughing.

Hailey turned and glared at Kevin. “What the hell man! You told him?”

Kevin began spluttering and Hailey shot up from her seat, trying to get to him.

“Jay get your girl!” Kevin shouted while running out of the room.

Jay simply laughed along with the rest of them as Hailey chased him throughout the house.

* * *

Their time undercover proved successful. Kevin was able to introduce himself to the drug dealer and they had a buy set up for when they’d be back in town.

The team were meeting up with Voight back in the district to have a debrief.

“Kevin saw the product, it seems legit. We’ve a meet set up for next week.” Hailey informed Voight.

“That’s not all he saw.” Adam muttered under his breath.

Hailey shot him a glare before continuing with her debriefing.

“Alright good work. Take the rest of the day off and be ready to be back tomorrow.” Voight told the team.

“Molly’s?” Vanessa asked.

They all agreed and made their way to the bar.

“Jay you better watch out man, Kev’s coming for your girl.” Adam said once they had settled at the bar. It’s probably not the last dig he will make at Hailey after what happened.

Jay shook his head and grinned while taking a gulp of his beer.

They spent the evening joking around and sharing stories and eventually Hailey and Jay got up to leave.

They said their goodbyes and were ready to leave when Kevin called out to Hailey. “I’ll be home soon, warm the bed up.”

Hailey shot a grin over her shoulder and took Jay’s hand in hers.


	7. Jacket

Jay and Hailey stood by the edge of the bar counter, their heads close together, giggling at each others jokes. They were very much in each others space, Jay's arm was wrapped loosely around Hailey's waist. But this is why they picked here. They chose this bar knowing they could show affection without the fear of being spotted by people they know.

Jay lowered his head to Hailey's ear. "You want another drink?"

Hailey nodded and gave Jay a quick peck. She smirked to herself as she watched his butt as he walked. She hit the jackpot with Jay. He was an attractive and kind man, the most selfless person she's ever met.

They've been dating for two months behind the back of their unit. Hiding their relationship meant spending most of their time together behind the walls of Jay's apartment. They couldn't be a couple in Hailey's house with Vanessa still staying there and they refused to show affection in public in the fear of being spotted by someone they know. If Voight found out they’re dating, he’d have both their heads but after a long week working a tough case they wanted to celebrate and that meant making their way to this bar where they should be safe from prying work colleagues.

"Sorry it took me so long. This girl wouldn't stop trying to talk to me and I couldn't get away." Jay look terrified and Hailey couldn't help but laugh once she saw the aforementioned girl eyeing up Jay. She was still staring.

Hailey placed her drink on the counter and wrapped her arms around his neck. She smirked up at him. "Mmm she can’t seem to take her eyes off of you. I say we give her a show."

Jay's eyes lit up and he smirked. "Sounds good to me."

He placed his drink down and began to lean down to kiss her til he saw two people enter the bar. "You have got to be kidding me."

Jay quickly released Hailey and put some space between them. Hailey looked up to see Adam and Kevin approaching them. She sighed, of course they could not have one night to themselves.

"Hey, what are you two doing here?" Hailey tried to sound upbeat but she was really looking forward to this night and them two arriving put a damper on her mood.

"We heard you mention this place during the week and wanted to hit up a new place. So here we are." Adam looked at them suspiciously. "What are you doing here? I thought you were both too busy to meet for drinks."

Hailey panicked and said the only thing she could think of in that moment. "Yeah busy trying to find this guy a date. I'm his wingwoman.”

Jay glanced down at her, horrified. He knew where this was going to go. Just as expected, Adam and Kevin immediately jumped on board, pushing Jay to a group of girls further down the bar. Jay turned and gave a beaming Hailey a murderous look. She was getting too much joy from this. She mouthed a quick ‘sorry’ to him then laughed with Kevin and Adam at how uncomfortable he looked.

Twenty minutes later he returned looking dishevelled. “She tried drag me into the bathroom.”

The three burst out laughing at Jay. He really pulled the short straw.

Jay glared at her from the other side of the bar. Hailey laughed out and mouthed him a quick 'sorry'.

* * *

  
Jay glanced up from his desk as he heard two footsteps entering the bullpen. He grinned as Vanessa and Hailey made their way inside. Hailey was wearing a high collared shirt. They had met up last night and that was evident my the marks left on Hailey's neck and collarbone.

Hailey smirked in his direction.

Jay's attention was stolen by Vanessa. Or more importantly the jacket she was wearing. He was 99% sure that jacket belonged to him but he wasn't sure how Vanessa would have gotten it. She couldn't have taken it from his locker because he never wears it to work and he doesn't ever remember brining it to Hailey's house.

The likelihood of Vanessa having the same jacket was very, very slim. The jacket was a special Chicago Bulls one gifted to Jay by an ex player after he solved a case involving him.

Jay decided not to bring it up yet. He presumed that Hailey was involved in taking the jacket. He'd ask her about it later when there wasn't any prying eyes.

He didn’t want to make a scene.

* * *

  
The day was going smoothly and it was lunchtime by the time the jacket was brought up. Not by Jay though.

"Ehh Rojas why are you wearing Halstead's jacket? Don't tell me Hailey set you two up."

Kim’s jaw dropped. She always thought Jay and Hailey would become an item. Vanessa was a complete curveball

Jay's head shot up once he heard Adam speaking.

“This isn’t Halstead’s jacket.”

Jay glanced up from where he was seated on the couch and made eye contact with Hailey who was sitting at the table.

Adam wasn’t letting this go. “That’s definitely his. He rubbed it in my face so hard when he was given that jacket.”

Jay pleaded with Hailey through his eyes. ‘Help me out here.’ He conveyed. Hailey simply shrugged her shoulders.

Vanessa raised her eyebrows at Hailey. “Hailey?”

Hailey pretended like she didn’t hear her and continued to sip on her coffee.

“I borrowed this coat off of Hailey so if there’s anyone you need to question it’s her.”

All eyes turned to Jay and Hailey.

“I won it from Jay.” Hailey stammered out.

“You won it?” Adam questioned with his eyebrows raised.

“Uh yeah. We made a bet over a Bulls’ game and I won.”

Jay nodded along and the team looked at them suspiciously. Thankfully they were called to a scene so there could be no more questioning.

* * *

“Do you think they suspect anything?” Hailey asked as she threw her bag to the floor and collapsed onto Jay’s couch.

“I think they always have.”

Jay bent down and kissed the top of Hailey’s head before making his way into the kitchen to cook them dinner.

“I want you to meet my family.” Hailey said abruptly after they’d eaten dinner.

Jay’s head snapped up once he heard this. It honestly surprised him. They hadn’t even told the unit they were dating yet so Hailey springing this shocked him.

“I know we haven’t told Voight yet but I’d love for my family to meet you. You’re it for me Jay and I want people to know that.” Hailey felt like a weight was lifted off her chest but she was also terrified. They’ve only been together two months and this was a big confession. She didn’t want to scare him away.

“I- you’re it for me too. Yes.” Jay sprung forward and connected his lips with Hailey’s.

They spent a good while kissing and when they did break away it was Hailey who pulled back.

“Okay so Christmas?” Hailey questioned, breathlessly.

“Yeah, sure.” Jay replied. He was too preoccupied with trying to kiss her again.

“Wait Jay, we need to talk about telling Voight.”

“We can tell him tomorrow but right now I want to celebrate.” Jay picked Hailey up and connected his lips with hers. The walk to the bedroom was a bit of a struggle. The next day they came clean to Voight and a weight was lifted off both their shoulders.


	8. Christmas

“How are things at work?” Jay questioned Hailey. They were at his place and he was preparing dinner for them both. He had yet to return to work after being shot by Angela.

Jay heard her sighing from her spot on the couch.

“Exhausting, we just can’t seem to catch a break lately. It’s nonstop.”

Jay entered the living room and handed her a plate of food. “That sucks but you’ll be going home soon for Christmas. Just keep thinking about that.”

Hailey pushed her food around the plate and sheepishly replied. “Yeah about that... I’m actually not going home for the holidays.”

“No way, Is Voight not giving you the time off?” Jay asked incredulously. Hailey deserves time off more than most. Jay’s abduction, then near death experience affected Hailey greater than any other in the unit. Several breakdowns and countless prayers for his recovery mentally exhausted her and she has yet to recover fully.

“I have it off. I told my family I want to spend Christmas here... with you.” Hailey glanced up at Jay and quickly backtracked. “And I mean Vanessa has no one to spend it with so I thought we could all have Christmas together.”

Jay sighed and placed his plate on the coffee table. “Hailey you should be going home to your family.”

“Look Jay you’re still recovering and I want to be here. I know you and Will have no plans so please let me do this. We can just have a nice calm dinner, the four of us.”

Jay reluctantly agreed, he’d already put her through so much and he just wants to appease her at this stage. She deserves it.

“I guess we could invite Stella and Kelly too? I heard they’re not doing anything.”

Hailey agreed and they spent some time watching tv.

“Come on, it’s too late for you to be driving home.” Jay said a while later. He grabbed her hand and tugged her towards his bedroom.

This development happened when Jay was first let out of the hospital. Hailey slept at his apartment most days since his release but sharing the bed was purely platonic they kept telling themselves.

Hailey got changed into a pair of Jay’s sweatpants and the pair brushed their teeth together in the bathroom. Jay watched her through heavy eyelids once they finally made it to the bed. They were facing each other and their feet were tangled together. He studied her, she had huge bags under her eyes and seemed to age by years in mere months.

He edged his way slightly closer to her and grasped her hand in his before closing his eyes.

  


* * *

“I can manage myself Will.” Jay grumbled as he tried push his hands away.

“Jesus Jay could you stop being so proud for five minutes. I’m just helping put your scarf on, you’re not supposed to be raising your arms.” Will replied.

Jay grumbled to himself and started complaining on how long Will was taking.

“Excited to see Hailey are we?” Will questioned while grinning.

Jay shot him a dirty look over his shoulder and went to leave his apartment.

Will had taken to teasing Jay about Hailey any chance he has. Their feelings for each other become abundantly clear during Jay’s recovery. Now he was just waiting for them to wake up and admit their feelings.

“I must say it’s nice to see each other outside of Jay being injured.” Will said as a greeting to Hailey.

Jay sighed and elbowed his brother in the gut. Hailey was smiling but he could tell it was fake, she’s not ready to joke about his mortality.

“Happy Christmas Hails.” Jay said softly once Will moved to the kitchen.

Hailey grinned up at him then pulled him into a hug.

They stood there in the hallway for a good couple of minutes. Hailey’s arms were wrapped around Jay’s waist while his cradled her back. They both had their eyes closed, savouring the moment. Touch was another aspect of their relationship that increased after Jay being shot.

Eventually they broke apart and Hailey helped him out of his scarf and jacket.

Hailey avoided his eyes after that intimate moment. “Come on, dinner should be ready soon.”

Jay hung back a moment and stared at her retreating figure. He distractedly watched her form and it took him a moment to release Vanessa was speaking to him once he entered the kitchen.

“Jay, long time no see.” Vanessa said as a greeting as she raised her fist for a knuckle touch.

Jay connected his fist to hers and they caught up while watching Hailey and Will prepare the dinner.

  


* * *

An hour later the four of them plus Stella and Kelly were seated around the table. They were all wearing the paper crowns from Christmas crackers and there was a nice atmosphere. There was some music playing in the background and they were all laughing while having a couple of drinks. Jay had yet to be cleared to drink so he was stuck drinking club soda.

“How have you been feeling lately?” Stella questioned Jay earnestly.

Jay took a sip of his drink then looked at Hailey. She was mid conversation with Will but she glanced over when she heard the question. “It’s been a long process but I’m slowly getting back to normal.”

Kelly threw his arm over Stella’s chair and laughed. “Dude how many bullets has it been now? You’re like the terminator.”

“If only I had the body of Arnold Schwarzenegger.” Jay joked.

By now Hailey had abandoned her conversation with Will and was watching silently.

“You’re racking up the scars man. I’m sure the ladies are all over that.”

Jay shook his head while lightly grinning. He took another sip of his drink and dared a glance at Hailey. She looked pale.

“Hailey, Vanessa, you would find scars hot right?” Kelly questioned. Jay suspected he may have hit the drinks a bit too hard.

Hailey gave a small fake smile and pushed her chair back from the table. “Excuse me for a moment.”

She quickly made her way to the kitchen with Vanessa and Jay’s eyes trailing her.

Stella took this chance to hit Kelly. “What the hell were you thinking?”

He began apologizing to Jay, he was only trying to make a joke. Jay reassured him everything was fine before excusing himself too.

When he got to the kitchen he saw Hailey standing by the counter, clutching the edge tightly in her hands. Her Christmas crown was crumpled on the ground.

Jay approached her and put his hand on his shoulder while questioning her. “Hey, you ok?”

“I’m fine Jay.” She snapped. She moved further along the counter, dislodging his hand yet her hands were still tightly gripping the counter.

“You’re clearly not Hailey. Talk to me, what’s wrong?”

“There’s nothing wrong. I came here to get the dessert ready.” She still wasn’t looking at him.

“Bullshit.” Jay simply said.

The bluntness of his voice startled her and she found herself opening her mouth to respond when he cut her off.

“Kelly’s joke clearly affected you. Can you just please tell me what’s wrong?” His tone had softened slightly but he still sounded exasperated. This just pissed her off further.

Hailey sighed in frustration. She ran her hands through her hair and turned to face him. “What do you want me to say Jay? That I’m not over seeing you shot and almost dead? That I see it everytime I go to bed at night? I know you want to forget it ever happened but I just can’t just do that Jay. I can’t pretend I didn’t almost lose you and you joking about it doesn’t help.”

Jay was shocked by her outburst. He moved closer to her and took her hands in his. “Hailey I’m not trying to make it seem like it didn’t happen. It was just conversation with Kelly.”

Hailey shrugged herself from his grip again. Jay’s stomach dropped, it hurt him. She turned her head away from him and spoke softly. “Can you please send Vanessa in to help with the dessert?”

Jay didn’t reply and his heart broke when he heard her sniffle as he left the room.

* * *

“Hey man I’m sorry for what I said earlier. I didn’t mean to make Hailey feel uncomfortable.” Severide said to Jay.

They were standing by the fire in Hailey’s sitting room having a drink.

“Honestly Kelly don’t worry, it was just a joke. Hailey’s ok.” Jay responded. He knew she wasn’t and frankly he didn’t know what he could do to make things right between them.

“So what’s going on between you two?” Kelly questioned.

Jay’s head snapped up. “What do you mean?”

“Cmon Jay I’ve seen you two flirting at Molly’s. And not to mention her reaction to me joking about you getting shot.”

Jay sighed and decided to be honest with his friend.

“We’re friends but I’m not going to lie, I want more.” Jay turned and glanced at Hailey talking to Stella at the other side of the room. “She’s lost people before, we both have. I guess that’s making both of us weary of taking the next step. It’s complicated” Jay summed up.

Kelly laughed and knocked his glass against Jay’s. “To complicated relationships.”

Jay lifted his glass to his lips and was about to take a drink when Hailey ripped the glass from his hands.

“What the hell Hailey?” Jay questioned while shaking the whiskey off of his hands.

“What the fuck are you doing drinking this? You’re on medication you’re not supposed to be drinking alcohol.” Hailey questioned him, enraged.

“Jesus Hailey. Chill out. Will said it was fine for me to have one drink.”

Hailey shook her head, she was pissed. “No Jay I will not ‘Chill out’.”

The rest of them watched on awkwardly before Kelly spoke up. “Maybe we should leave you guys to it.”

“Yeah you should.” Hailey said coldly. She was facing the fireplace with her hands on her hips, refusing to make eye contact with any of them.

Jay grimaced apologetically to them before glaring at the side of Hailey’s head. He didn’t get what her problem was.

“Are you going to explain what the hell that was?” Jay questioned once they all left.

Hailey turned and gave him a death glare. “No Jay, you don’t get to give me a lecture right now. What the hell were you thinking drinking whiskey? You had surgery less than a month ago. You’re on medication with strict orders to not drink. So I’ll ask again what the hell were you thinking?”

She had stepped closer to him during her rant and now they were almost touching.

“Hailey can you calm down. It was one drink. One. Will said it was ok. Jesus one drink isn’t going to kill me.”

That was apparently the wrong thing to say.

“Oh sorry I forgot that you’re the invincible Jay Halstead. Nothing can kill you, right? Why not go get yourself shot again for old times sake. Not like it would have me or Will breaking apart thinking this will be the time that the invincible Jay Halstead succumbs to his injuries.”

“Hailey cmon.” Jay said softly this time. He went to reach towards her but she withdrew again.

“No Jay.” The fight was leaving her and now she just looked exhausted. “Don’t you get it Jay, **I almost lost you**. We searched for you and I finally had you back in that factory and then minutes later you were gone. Your heart stopped and I thought that was it. I can’t go through losing another partner.”

There were tears rolling down her face and Jay had never seen this strong woman look so small.

Jay wrapped his arms around her and mumbled apologizies into the side of her head.

“I swear Hailey, I’m not trying to get myself hurt. I thought I was doing the right thing.” There were tears streaming down his own face. He kept mumbling things to her.

“I swear I’m going to be better Hailey. You’re not going to lose me.”

They stood there in each other’s embraces for a long time and the night was spent holding each other close in Hailey’s bed. The conversation was far from over but it was a step in the right direction.


End file.
